This Green Chili Recipe is the result of years of tweaking and testing (and eating!), until it was packed with as much rich, meaty green chili flavor as I could cram in there.

Photo byRebecca Blackwell/ alittleandalot.com

What is green chili?

Growing up in Colorado, I was a little surprised as an adult to realize that "Green Chili" did not mean what I thought it meant all across the country.

In fact, outside of much of the west, if you say "Green Chili" many people will simply think you are talking about an actual Green Chili, not delicious pork and chili stew.

Green Chili is a stew that's traditionally made with a meat base and plenty of, you guessed it... green chilies. After that, anything goes.

The Green Chili you find at one restaurant is not the Green Chili you'll find in another. This is also true from state to state, from household to household, and from recipe to recipe.

Even though Green Chili recipes date all the way back to the 1600s, when someone says "traditional" Green Chili, really just means traditional to them, or their family, or their local community. This brings us to the next question...

Why is this green chili red?

It's true. My Green Chili is kinda red. That's because it contains chipotle chili powder, enchilada sauce, and tomatoes because all of these ingredients add flavor. Big heaping portions of delicious chili flavor.

There are also plenty of green chilies in there. This stew is still appropriately named. It just also includes some red chili. Because, YUM.

Photo byRebecca Blackwell/ alittleandalot.com

If you're going to make green chili, make a lot

This recipe makes a giant pot of Chili - enough for a crowd or for dividing up and freezing into smaller portions.

Eat green chili in bowls with warm flour tortillas for dipping or ladle it over burritos, enchiladas, crispy corn tortilla quesadillas, or these super easy crispy Chili Rellenos.

Or, spoon it over eggs, veggies, rice and beans, grilled meat or fish, or anything else that strikes your fancy.

Recipe: Green Chili with Hatch Chile and Pork Ribs

For step-by-step photos and instructions and recomendations about the kind of chilies to use in this recipe, please see the original recipe: Pork Green Chili

Ingredients

• 2 ½ pounds boneless country-style pork ribs
• ¼ cup vegetable, canola, or extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 1 large onion, peeled and diced
• 8 cloves garlic, peeled and diced
• 1 jalapeño, seeds and stem removed and diced
• 1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder
• 3 tablespoons ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 4 tablespoon (2 ounces/ 56 grams)butter
• ⅓ cup (40 grams) all-purpose flour
• 6 cups (48 ounces) chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 ¾ cup (14 ounces) enchilada sauce
• 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 32 ounces (2 pounds) green chilies, roasted, peeled, and diced (mild, medium, or hot)
• 2 tablespoons diced chipotle peppers in adobo
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2-4 tablespoons lime juice (to taste)
• 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Instructions

1. Cut the pork ribs into large bite-size chunks - about 1-inch cubes. Spread them out over a couple of paper towels and pat dry.
2. Add the oil to a large stockpot or dutch oven and set it over medium high heat. When the oil is very hot and shimmering, add enough pork to cover the bottom of the pan without any of the pieces overlapping. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
3. Let cook, undisturbed, for 2 or 3 minutes, until brown on the bottom. Use metal tongs to flip the pieces over and allow them to brown on the other side. Remove the pork from the pan to a plate and repeat with the remaining pieces of pork.
4. Turn the heat under the pan down to medium and add the chopped onion. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is soft and translucent, about 3-4 minutes.
5. Add the garlic, jalapeño, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and 2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes longer.
6. Add the butter to the pan and stir it around until it's melted. Sprinkle in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
7. Pour in the broth, scrapping at the bottom of the pan to loosen any little brown bits of flavor that might be stuck there.
8. Add the enchilada sauce, diced tomatoes, green chiles, chipotle peppers, Worcestershire, sugar and the pork. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and cover partially so that the lid is set slightly askew to allow steam to escape.
9. Let the green chili simmer over low heat for 2 hours, lifting the lid and stirring every once in a while.
10. Remove the lid and let the chili simmer for another 30-60 minutes, stirring often, until it's thickened slightly.
11. Turn off the heat and stir in 2 tablespoons lime juice. Taste and add as much more lime juice and salt as you like.
12. Serve sprinkled with fresh cilantro if desired.

Recipe Notes

• Store this Green Chili in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
• Substitute pork carnitas for pork ribs: I make these Instant Pot or Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas ALL the time because they are just so freaking delicious. The recipe makes quite a bit, so I usually have leftovers, which I often use to make Green Chili. If you'd like to do the same, just skip the steps involving cutting and browning the pork ribs. Follow the rest of the recipe as it's written, adding the carnitas in step #6.

Photo byRebecca Blackwell/ alittleandalot.com

How to serve green chili

1. Super Easy, Crispy Chili Rellenos. There are few things better in life than a Crispy Chile Relleno, fried to golden perfection, stuffed with roasted chile and plenty of melted cheese. This simple recipe uses egg roll wrappers to make homemade Chile Rellenos so easy you just might be tempted to make them every week.
2. I make these crispy corn tortilla quesadillas about once a week. Most of the time we pour Herdez salsa verde over them unless we happen to have some green chili in the refrigerator and then, of course, we are smothering them with that.
3. Homemade Flour Tortillas. Homemade tortillas, soft and warm, are one of the best things in the whole wide world. Combine that with how easy they are to make and flour tortillas from scratch becomes one of the few life decisions for which there can be no regrets.
4. Pork Carnitas. I have made this Carnitas Recipe more times than I could possibly count for more occasions than I could possibly remember. The meat is crispy on the outside, super flavorful, fall-off-the-bone tender, and couldn’t be easier to prepare in the slow cooker or Instant Pot.
5. Homemade Black Beans. Homemade black beans are a simple fix-it-and-forget-it dish when simmered slowly with garlic and spices in your slow cooker, on the stovetop, or in the Instant Pot.
6. Jicama Salad with Apples and Honey Lime Dressing. This jicama salad is light, crisp, tart, and refreshing. It's quick and easy to make, packed with nutrition, and the perfect side dish for anything smothered in Green Chili.
7. Pomegranate Margaritas. Pomegranate Margaritas are the Little Black Dress of the cocktail hour: simple, easy, dangerously delicious, and exactly right for nearly any situation.

For more of my recipes, visit alittleandalot.com and ofbatteranddough.com.

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